Clearing the confusion on passes, leave and integrity Published Dec. 18, 2006 By Kerry Glaser 90th Mission Support Squadron F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. -- There seems to be some confusion in regard to being charged leave in conjunction with family days or quite simply, a pass. Air Force Instruction manual 36-3003 describes a pass as an authorized absence from duty for a relatively short period of time. When provided with a family day pass, it is considered a regular pass, which may not exceed four days. Unit commanders are not authorized to tack on extra days at the beginning or end of the four days. At the beginning and the end of the pass, the member must be in the local area. The local area is the place from which you regularly commute to work. There is no mileage restriction with a pass; however, unit commanders may require a member to be able to return to duty within a reasonable time in the event of an operational mission requirement, such as a recall, unit alert or unit emergency. When taking leave in conjunction with a pass, the member is required to include all days he or she will be out of the local area, pass days and leave days. For example, an Airman wants to go to Florida leaving Dec. 18 and returning Dec. 25. He must take leave from Dec. 18 to Dec. 25, even though Dec. 22 through Dec. 25 is a special pass. If the Airman is taking leave and not leaving the local area, he may take the days of leave requested and still be entitled to his family day time-off. Leave starts and stops in the local area, no exceptions. The integrity issue plays a role when members fail to follow this policy and try to cheat the system. Do not try to combine the passes with leave days when leaving the local area. This is a punishable offense for which many have paid the price for by losing stripes, money and ultimately, career progression. And, if members were ever in an accident and killed or seriously injured, a line of duty determination could come down and find that no benefits will be paid to family members. Bottom line: Follow the rules and use your head. If you have questions about leave policies, ask the experts in your commander's support staff.